1. home and garden

JOB DESCRIPTION
Position:
Housing and Support Officer
Responsible to:
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Key Contacts:
Senior Management Team, Housing Team
Salary:
Starting salary £24,000 per annum
Benefits:
3% employer’s contribution to a stakeholder pension
Leave:
Pro rata 30 days per year, inclusive of statutory bank holidays
Hours:
Full time 37.5 hours per week
Job Purpose
As the Housing and Support Officer, you will have responsibility for the performance,
implementation and delivery of the Housing Support Team strategy within the
requirements of current and newly commissioned contracts. The role is to take
responsibility for the supervision, leadership and support of the housing support
workers to develop new programmes of work and deliver positive outcomes for
service users who are participating within OPENhouse support contracts.
Main responsibilities include:
 Leadership and direction of the housing team to include supervision of staff
performance reviews, disciplinaries where necessary and annual appraisals.
 Supporting the DCEO with the overall responsibility of delivering high quality
services to clients in our accommodation.
 Working with the DCEO in identifying individual and team training, targets and
development needs.
 Offering a sensitive, professional, supportive advocacy approach to staff
team.
 Lead on developing service users towards independence within OPENhouse
accommodation.
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Ensure staff are supported to carry out an outcome based service for
vulnerable young people accommodated at OPENhouse.
Lead on maintaining high quality support planning and record keeping for
service users who engage with OPENhouse support contracts.
Lead on performance monitoring and support to staff regarding service user
support plans including following up on important actions critical for service
user’s personal development.
Ensuring support plans are monitored using SMART analysis (specific,
measurable, achievable, recorded and with targets specific).
Building good relationships and trust between staff, services users and
partner organisations.
Communicating and review progress with individuals on a one to one basis
and at times it may be necessary to support staff with caseloads where duties
may overlap or to manage staff absence.
Develop and implement procedures and processes in line with new contracts.
Managing and understanding the needs of young homeless people and care
leavers.
Contributing to a culture of excellence and high expectations.
Positively engaging and supporting the organisation to grow.
To ensure the service level specification of contracts is holistically delivered.
To ensure the housing and support team are accountable to commissioners.
Ability to work as senior on call on a rota basis.
Essential to have own car with business use insurance.
Specific Duties
The specific duties of the post will alter from time to time to meet or adapt to change
in the way support working is carried out. The duties listed here give guidance to
how the role is to be carried out with the agreement of the DCEO who has overall
responsibility for the direction of the provision of housing and support services.
1. To work with the DCEO in identifying both individual and staff team training
and development needs.
2. To lead on the service user assessment, referrals, placements and support
plans and eventual move on for service users. To ask and take direction from
the DCEO in cases of doubt or where risks are high and a more qualified
opinion is required.
3. To be able to engage with and develop an understanding of service users
specific difficulties and approaches for encouraging their progression towards
greater independence, lifeskills and the ability to live within a social framework
as appropriate.
4. To lead on developing service user groups.
5. To provide support to Service users including one to one support and group
sessions where this is appropriate and where it is required to cover staff
shortages, changes or absences.
6. To take a lead on developing new areas of work in the housing and support
team taking a lead from the Senior Management Team.
7. To work collaboratively with commissioners and ensure there are very clear
regular communications.
8. To develop good working partnerships with local statutory services and
organisations, networking for referrals, transfers or moving on and liaising with
professionals for appropriate placements for service users.
9. To give staff leadership and support in the development of person centred
Support Plans for service users in achieving their goals and self-manage their
own personal and domestic resources. This will also include access
community services, volunteering, and encouraging their integration within the
community. This may involve some weekend and evening work and
involvement in service user activities.
10. To monitor safeguarding and child protection for service users who may be at
risk of abuse and harm to self and others who use our services and report any
concerns in confidence with the company safeguarding representative.
11. To ensure services users assessments are carried out as part of all referrals
for OPENhouse supported accommodation and when placed full inductions
are carried out. To refer assessments to the DCEO where appropriate.
12. To be responsible for the support given to new service users taking up their
accommodation by enabling them to prepare the accommodation, arrange for
replacing/renewing defective items of furniture and equipment.
13. To be responsible for how staff support service users in taking up
responsibility for the maintenance and security of their housing by being able
to report all repairs and maintenance matters, and ensuring that all resulting
works are carried out satisfactorily. To enable service users to take
responsibilities for the upkeep of their tenancies, compliance with
OPENhouse support rules, individual support plans and keeping up with their
rent payments.
14. To be responsible for processes that report all property maintenance to the
property officer and following up repairs to ensure they are completed in
accordance with time lines defined in tenancy agreements.
15. To participate in effective and continuous professional development, taking
responsibility and ownership for your own development, the supervision of
staff who are direct reports and their appraisal and personal development.
16. To liaise, and maintain good relations, with partners, stakeholders and other
organisations working with OPENhouse.
17. To take direction and carry out procedures to provide and oversee
comprehensive support to service users with complex needs as directed by
the DCEO. Complex needs may include:
Substance Misuse, Anger Management Issues, Asperger’s Syndrome; Mental
Health; Learning Difficulties, Attachment Disorders, Inappropriate Behaviours,
etc. on matters such as claiming benefits, budgeting, cooking, self-care etc.,
including personal support, e.g. accessing counselling as needed.
18. Develop a range of activities requiring Housing and Support staff and service
user involvement and participation (including attendance to local fairs and
conference stalls, attending boards and forums, training of professionals,
participating in recruitment panels).
19. Support the DCEO to ensure that voluntary sector and statutory agencies are
aware of the value of our service, and where appropriate attend local area
housing and support meetings as the OPENhouse representative.
20. Ensure that opportunities are utilised to publicise and acknowledge the work
of OPENhouse through the use of local media, radio and newspapers.
21. To be involved in planning activities in response to suggestions from service
users, Support Staff, other internal departments and other external
Organisations.
22. Be responsible for the service delivery within Housing and Support for service
users in OPENhouse accommodating taking direction, when given, from the
Housing and Support Manager and Senior Specialist Practitioner.
23. Regularly monitor and review service level delivery through performance
monitoring of support plans, housing and support returns information, internal
records as well as seeking feedback from service users.
General
1. To keep appropriate accurate records and to undertake other administrative
duties as required including completion of all monitoring forms required by
partner agencies, using electronic media as appropriate.
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To be responsible for ensuring that services continually improve in line with
Internal recommendations and plans as well as external requirements.
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To be a good communicator, both verbally and in writing
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To monitor and report to senior staff the effectiveness of support.
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To work as a Team Member, sharing information and supporting colleagues
across the Organisation.
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To act in accordance with the organisations Health and Safety requirements
and to notify senior management promptly if there are any concerns.
7. To participate in regular supervision and appraisal and undertake any relevant
training appropriate to the role.
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To work in accordance with organisational operational policies and procedures
and those of external regulators.
10. To adhere to the Professional Code of Conduct.
11. To identify own support needs.
12. To be able to use basic computer packages including e-mail and internet
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13. To carry out such other duties consistent with the above as may be required by
Management from time to time.
14. To be responsible for promoting OPENhouse and the work we do.
Person Specification
Essential Personal Attributes
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Commitment to the support and development of vulnerable individuals who
may also be at risk through complex needs and behaviours.
Acceptance of the values and ethos of OPENhouse.
Empathy with young people and disadvantaged people.
Willingness to work flexible (i.e. unsociable) hours on a regular basis
Physically fit due to physical nature of some aspects of the post.
Willingness to work closely as a team member and with other professionals.
Willingness to undertake training.
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Good communicator: Patient, caring, sensitive, diplomatic, efficient.
Ability to recognise own support needs.
An enthusiastic and practical outlook.
Leadership and ability to motivate a team.
Qualifications Required
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Good level of general education, relevant Degree desirable.
A wide variety of experience in supported housing.
Professional qualifications recognised in support working to NVQ level 4.
Additional youth work, social work, or counselling would be an advantage.
Experience Necessary
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Experience within the field of housing and support (At Least 3 years)
Experience of working with disadvantaged people.
Experience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Ability to undertake lone working.
Ability to work under pressure.
Proven experience of leading teams and supervising staff (2 years min)
Ability to organise yours and other people work.
Experience of representing organisations and working with Multi-Disciplinary
Agencies.
Experience of developing and implementing new projects.
Skills
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Ability to encourage and support disengaged vulnerable people.
Readiness to attempt innovation.
Perseverance with difficult people and situations.
Competence in communication, electronic, written and oral.
Representation of work to outside agencies.
Organisation and prioritisation of a demanding workload.
Awareness of health and safety and safeguarding issues and ability to
implement regulations.
Ability to maintain clear professional boundaries.